Various sod placement machines are known. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,697,452; 4,777,890; 6,131,668 and 6,213,218 describe machines which are utilized to roll out sod from a roll to be oriented as a flat strip on the ground. While efforts are made to roll adjacent strips with minimal gaps or seams between adjacent strips, this is not always easily accomplished. Frequently, additional measures must be taken to laterally push a sod strip toward and against an adjacent strip to close a gap or seam between strips. This is sometimes done by manual labor or by using the traction force of a bucket loader or like vehicle.
The present inventor has recognized that using traction force from a vehicle to push sod strips can be undesirable because of the detrimental effect of the vehicle tires have on the un-sodded bare ground that supports the tires of the vehicle. The traction between tire and ground required for the vehicle to push the sod strip can cause ruts under the tires of the vehicle in the sand bed that awaits subsequently laid sod strips. This causes additional preparation work. Additionally, since the vehicle must be driven perpendicularly to the longitudinal strip direction, the vehicle must be constantly reoriented from strip to strip which also can cause ruts and unevenness in the sand or earth bed that awaits subsequently laid sod strips.
The present inventor has recognized that it would be desirable to provide a machine that accomplished the task of laterally positioning sod strips, already laid out flat on the ground, to tightly pack adjacent strips to minimize or eliminate gaps in the seams of adjacent sod strips.